Overview
Dr. Mathad is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology in the Center for Global Health at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is also a faculty member at the Center for Infectious Diseases in India (CIDI). Her primary research interests include the immune and metabolic changes of pregnancy and their impact on the pathogenesis of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). Since 2010, she has been conducting NIH-funded research in Pune, India. She first studied the performance of immune-based latent TB diagnostics in pregnant women with and without HIV. She then led the NIH-funded PRACHITi study (NICHD R01HD081929, NIAID K23AI129854) there, which discovered that pregnancy impairs function but not frequency of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. She also identified a transcriptional host gene expression set that distinguished pregnant women who progress to active TB from those who do not. She also received an NIH R21 to examine how maternal HIV, even when controlled, impacts placental immunology and programming of the fetal immune system. She is currently leading the PRAGATHI study (R01AI162235), which is investigating how gestational diabetes, in the presence and absence of maternal HIV infection, affects TB immunology and incident disease.
An active member of the International Maternal, Pediatric, and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials network (IMPAACT), Dr. Mathad chaired the only study of the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the 3-month isoniazid/rifapentine regimen (3HP) for latent TB treatment in pregnant and postpartum women (IMPAACT 2001). She is currently chairing DOLPHIN-Moms, a study of the safety and pharmacokinetics of a one-month daily regimen of isoniazid/rifapentine (1HP) and 3HP in pregnant women living with HIV in South Africa.
In addition to her innovative research, Dr. Mathad also devotes considerable time to mentoring students, residents, and fellows interested in global health, both in New York and India. She has a particular interest in developing the careers of female trainees and co-leads the Women in Global Health Research Initiative at Weill Cornell.
An active member of the International Maternal, Pediatric, and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials network (IMPAACT), Dr. Mathad chaired the only study of the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the 3-month isoniazid/rifapentine regimen (3HP) for latent TB treatment in pregnant and postpartum women (IMPAACT 2001). She is currently chairing DOLPHIN-Moms, a study of the safety and pharmacokinetics of a one-month daily regimen of isoniazid/rifapentine (1HP) and 3HP in pregnant women living with HIV in South Africa.
In addition to her innovative research, Dr. Mathad also devotes considerable time to mentoring students, residents, and fellows interested in global health, both in New York and India. She has a particular interest in developing the careers of female trainees and co-leads the Women in Global Health Research Initiative at Weill Cornell.
Highlights
- 1Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022
- 2International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
- 3Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022
Publications
70 publications
Funding
14 grantsView NIH portfolio on RePORTER ↗
Active
7 grants- MPIR01AI203452-01Subtype C HIV-1 Reservoir in Pregnancy-specific CompartmentsNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2026–2031
- MPIU54HD113172-01NY Community-Hospital-Academic Maternal Health Equity Partnerships (NY-CHAMP) - CEPCEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2023–2030 · via Columbia University· 2 renewals
- MPIR25AI183323-03Developing Research Leadership in Infectious Diseases Impacting WomenNIAID · 2024–2029 · via NIH RePORTER
- MPIR01HD112141-03S1A type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial of Community Health Workers to improve screening for postpartum diabetes in urban slums of India - Foreign Subsite SupplementEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2023–2028· 3 renewals
- PIR01AI162235-05HIV, gestational diabetes and TB in pregnancyNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2022–2027
- MPIUM1AI068632-20IMPAACT 2047; Phase II, Randomized Study of the Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Tolerability of High Dose Rifapentine given with Moxifloxacin for Tuberculosis during Pregnancy. Radiant-Moms Plus: Rifapentine in High Doses in Pregnancy with TBNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2025–2026 · via The Johns Hopkins University
- Sub-PIR01AI142669-06Immune correlates of LBI in HIV-exposed infantsNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2019–2025 · via University of Miami
Completed grants (7)
- Sub-PI2017-20-IMPAACT4TBIncreasing Market and Public Health Outcomes through Scaling UP Affordable Access Models for Short Course Preventive Therapy for TBUNITAID · 2022–2025 · via The Johns Hopkins University
- Sub-PI7200AA22CA00005Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination (SMART4TB)United States Agency for International Development · 2023–2025 · via The Johns Hopkins University
- PIK23AI129854-05Effect of Pregnancy and HIV on the Development of TuberculosisNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2017–2023Career· 2 renewals
- Sub-PIDAA9-19-65345-1Pregnancy associated immune responses to TB and HIV in India and South Africa (PARTHISA Study)United States Department of Agriculture · 2020–2022 · via CRDF Global
- PIR21HD099000-02Placental determinants of neonatal immune function in maternal HIV infectionEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2019–2022
- MPIUM1AI068636-08 PSPharmacokinetics, Tolerability, and Safety of Once-Weekly Rifapentine and Isoniazid In Pregnant and Post-Partum WomenNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2014–2020 · via The Johns Hopkins University
- Sub-PIR01HD081929-04Impact of Immune Changes of Pregnancy on TuberculosisEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2014–2018 · via The Johns Hopkins University
Clinical research
5 studies
Active
2 studies- PINCT06209411A Type 2 Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial of Community Health Workers to Improve Screening for Postpartum Diabetes in Urban Slums of IndiaNA · Weill Medical College of Cornell University · OPEN TO ACCRUAL (as of 2024)Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Gestational Diabetes
- PIPRAGATHI Infant Substudy (Nested within HIV, Gestational Diabetes, and Tuberculosis in Pregnancy Study)BJ Medical College & Sassoon General Hospitals · OPEN TO ACCRUAL (as of 2024)
Completed & closed trials (3)
- PIHIV, gestational diabetes and tuberculosis in pregnancyWeill Medical College of Cornell University · CLOSED TO ACCRUAL (as of 2026)
- PICommunity health workers to improve gestational diabetes screening in Pune, IndiaWeill Medical College of Cornell University · IRB STUDY CLOSURE (as of 2025)
- PIPregnancy associated immune responses to TB and HIV in India and South Africa (PARTHISA Study)CRDF Global · CLOSED TO ACCRUAL (as of 2022)
News mentions
2 mentionsView all WCM news ↗
- Ritu Banga Healthcare Disparities Research Awards Support Innovative ScienceMay 22, 2025
Four Weill Cornell Medicine investigators received the Ritu Banga Healthcare Disparities Research Awards, recognizing innovative research that will help close care gaps in clinical settings.
- Record Number of Weill Cornell Faculty Win ASCI Young Physician-Scientist AwardsMay 27, 2021
Eight Weill Cornell Medicine faculty members have received Young Physician-Scientist Awards from the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the most awarded to any institution this year.
Mentoring
1 menteeAll publications with mentees →
- KLKatherine LiMD mentee · Class of 2019